Economic stability and growth in southwestern Kansas depend on the continued availability of ground water for irrigation and other uses. The production of food and fiber from irrigated land in this region is of major significance to the economic well-being of Kansas and the nation. However, ground-water supplies for irrigation from the Ogallala Formation, the principal aquifer in western Kansas, are being depleted because water is being withdrawn at a rate many times faster than it is being replenished by recharge. Sandstone aquifers in underlying consolidated bedrock of Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous age are being developed to varying degrees for stock, domestic, industrial, and irrigation supplies in certain parts of southwestern Kansas. However, based on present information, the sandstone aquifers have significantly greater potential for additional development.

The study area for this report includes all or parts of 26 counties in southwestern Kansas (fig. 1). The area comprises approximately 17,400 mi2 and is bounded on the north by the Smoky Hill River, on the west by Colorado, on the south by Oklahoma, and on the east by the Arkansas River and Barton, Clark, and Kiowa counties.

This report presents the results of a geohydrologic study of the sandstone aquifers of Permian, Jurassic, and Cretaceous age in southwestern Kansas conducted in cooperation with the Kansas Geological Survey and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The report includes a description of the aquifers and their properties and the chemical characteristics of the ground water from these aquifers. In previous county and state studies, the sandstone units commonly were undifferentiated and were included in a single geohydrologic unit known as the "sandstone aquifer." Because an excessive amount of shale and siltstone also was included in this "aquifer," erroneous conclusions possibly could have been made as to the potential for development of water supplies from this "sandstone aquifer." For a summary of selected reports where the "sandstone aquifer" is addressed, see table 1.

Table 1--Summary of sandstone-aquifer data from selected previous reports. (Thickness is given in feet and is the stratigraphic unit thickness. Yield is given in gallons per minute. Depth to top of aquifer is given in feet. Asterisks [*] indicate units included in the "sandstone aquifer"; "Yes" indicates that the unit yields potable water to wells, but marginal for most uses; "No" indicates that the unit does not yield potable water to wells.)

Sandstoneaquifers

FinneyCounty

GrantandStantoncounties

GrayCounty

GreeleyandWichitacounties

HamiltonCounty

HaskellCounty

HodgemanandnorthernFordcounties

KearnyCounty

LaneandScottcounties

NessCounty

RushCounty

TregoCounty

Kansas

Gutentag,Lobmeyer,McGovern,and Long,1972

Fader,Gutentag,Lobmeyer,and Meyer,1964

McGovernand Long,1974

SlagleandWeakly,1976

LobmeyerandSauer,1974

GutentagandStullken,1974

LobmeyerandWeakly,1979

Gutentag,Lobmeyer,andMcGovern,1972

GutentagandStullken,1976

JenkinsandPabst,1977

McNellis,1973

Hodson,1965

KeeneandBayne,1977

Upper Cretaceous

Codell SandstoneMember of theCarlile Shale

Thickness

4

3-5

Yield

5-10

5-10

0

small amount

Lower Cretaceous

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Thickness

120-460

300-400

300-500

3S0

0-260

210-380

300-680

260-690

5-500

150-250

0-850

Yield

30-1,000

500

1,000

30-300

100-2.200

30-300

30-300

20-800

100-2,000

Dakota Formation

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Thickness

0-135

100-450

150-300

200-300

150-250

2-330

Yields potablewater to wells

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Kiowa Formation

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Thickness

0-150

160-250

60-170

100-125

100-380

Yields potablewater to wells

Yes

No

No

No

Cheyenne Sandstone

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Thickness

0-120

20-300

50-220

25-100

33-300

Yields potablewater to wells

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

No

No

Upper Jurassic

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Thickness

50-350

0-130

100-200

0-200

130-230

0-160

130-230

0-200

Yield

30-300

30-300

Upper Permian

Thickness

200-500

160

500

350-500

200-400

350-500

600-700

Yields potablewater to wells

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

"Sandstone Aquifer"

Depth to topof aquifer

300-800

70-500

600-1,500

0-800

300-600

100-350

0-700

530-1,060

100-700

80-530

300-1,000

100-2,600

Thickness, includinginterbedded shale

300-650

450

400-600

400-550

350-500

0-400

350-500

430-710

260-690

70-500

150-250

0-850

Yield

30-1,000

500-1,000

1,000

30-300

10-400

30-1,000

100-2,200

30-300

30-300

20-800

5-500

100-2,000

For this study, 15 observation wells were drilled for a total of 6,340 ft, and 20 piezometers were installed (fig. 1). The wells were constructed with plastic or steel pipe and screens. No sand pack was put into the hole. Air lift was used to develop some observation wells.

Data collection included the sampling and description of well cuttings from these wells (table 7), measuring ground-water levels from piezometers (table 8), and collecting water samples from wells for chemical analysis (table 9). Also borehole geophysical logs were run in the completed test holes. Tables 7-9 are given at the end of this report.

Selected electrical and nuclear logs of oil and gas test wells in southwestern Kansas were used to define and correlate geologic formations in the study area. Data from previous studies and logs of water wells were compiled and analyzed.

The geohydrologic data from this study are described in two reports prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey (Kume and Spinazola, 1982; 1983). These data complement and are the documentation for this report.

Acknowledgments

This report is the product of a cooperative study during 1976-79 conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Kansas Geological Survey and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Drillers' well logs were furnished by various commercial drillers, including Layne Western Co., Henkle Drilling and Supply Co., Inc., and Minter-Wilson Drilling Co.

Appreciation is expressed to the landowners who allowed access to their property for test drilling, observation-well construction, hydrologic measurements, and water-sample collection. Special thanks are expressed to the farmers, ranchers, and other individuals who provided information and assistance for this study.

Purpose and scope

The purpose of the investigation was 1) to define the geologic formations in which sandstone aquifers occur, 2) to describe the geohydrology of the sandstone aquifers, and 3) to describe the chemical characteristics of ground water in the sandstone aquifers and the suitability of the water for common uses.

The sandstone aquifers described in this report were limited to those that occur in the Upper Permian Series, the Upper Jurassic Series, and the Lower and Upper Cretaceous Series (table 2). These stratigraphic intervals were selected because they include those sandstones that contain or may contain freshwater. However, the Permian formations that subcrop beneath Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks may contain moderately saline to briny water in some areas of southwestern Kansas. The classification and nomenclature of the rock units in this report are those of the Kansas Geological Survey and differ somewhat from those of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Table 2--Generalized section of geologic formations and their hydrologic characteristics (classification and nomenclature used in this report are those of the Kansas Geological Survey and differ somewhat from those of the U.S. Geological Survey).

System

Series

Formation

Member

Range ofThickness(feet)

Physical Character

Water Supply

Quaternary

Pleistocene

Loess and dune sand

0-100

Silt and fine sand, mostly eolian. Mantles most of the uplands and masks much of the valley walls.

Most of the deposits are above the water table. Locally aquifer yields from 5 to 10 gal/min to wells.

Alluvium

0-80

Stream-laid deposits ranging from sand and gravel to silt and clay. Occurs along principal stream valleys.

Generally above the water table. Locally aquifer yields from 10 to 500 gal/min to wells.

Undifferentiateddeposits

0-200

Sand and medium to very coarse gravel, interbedded with clay, silt, fine sand, and caliche.

Consolidated aquifer, but not known to yield significant amounts of water to wells in most areas. In southwestern Scott County, where rocks have been fractured, the aquifer yields as much as 1,000 gal/min to wells. In Finney County, where solution cavities are present, the aquifer yields as much as 800 gal/min.

Principal sandstone aquifer in study area; yields 30-2,200 gal/min to wells. The Kiowa Formation is generally considered a confining layer in the study area. Water from wells in Cheyenne aquifer may not be potable in some areas. Untested in many places.

Sandstone aquifer, but not known to yield potable water to wells. Untested in many places.

Well-numbering system

The well-numbering system, as shown in fig. 2, gives the location of a well or test hole according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's system of land subdivision. In this system, the first set of digits of a well number indicates the township; the second set, the range east or west of the Sixth Principal Meridian; and the third set, the section in which the well or test hole is located. The first letter after the section number denotes the quarter section or 160-acre tract; the second, the quarter-quarter section or 40-acre tract; and the third, the quarter-quarter-quarter section or 10-acre tract. The 160-, 40-, and 10-acre tracts are designated A, B, C, or D in a counterclockwise direction, beginning in the northeast quadrant. Multiple well or test-hole locations within a 10-acre tract are assigned consecutive numbers, beginning with "1," in the order in which data were collected. When only one well is present in a 10-acre tract, that "1" is frequently omitted. Thus, in Finney County, the number 23-28W-5DCC means that the well is in the SW SW SE sec. 5, T. 23 S., R. 28 W.